D.C. sees violent weekend despite crime-reduction initiative

Two people were killed and a nightclub was shuttered amid a slew of shootings and stabbings during a violent weekend in the District, which saw officers flood the streets to beef up patrols.

Five shootings and two stabbings were reported between Friday night and Sunday morning with all the city’s police officers on duty as part of the All Hands on Deck crime-reduction initiative.

A man killed in one of the shootings was identified as Talbert Mitchell Bright, 48, of no fixed address. The Metropolitan Police Department reported that he was shot at 2nd Street and Massachusetts Avenue in Northwest at 2:44 a.m. Saturday. The shooting scene is located near Georgetown University Law Center and a local homeless shelter.

No arrests were made, but initial reports said officers were looking for a man who may have been responsible for the killing.

A woman, who police have not publicly identified, was fatally stabbed inside a residence in the 5200 block of Queen Stroll Place in Southeast. Police responded to the home for a report of a stabbing at 4:30 a.m. Sunday and found the woman unconscious and not breathing.

No suspects have been named in her death.

Another shooting from early Saturday resulted in the police-ordered closure of megaclub Lux Lounge.

Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier, invoking emergency police powers, ordered Lux Lounge closed for 96 hours after the shooting. In her letter to the District’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration ordering the closure, Chief Lanier wrote that a fight inside the club turned into a large-scale brawl after the club’s owners ejected patrons sometime around 3:30 a.m.

A large group of people continued fighting in front of the club, located at 649 New York Avenue in Northwest D.C. in the Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood downtown, until a person opened fire and injured a man.

Another man was knocked unconscious during the melee. Chief Lanier said it was the second time that evening police were summoned to Lux, after a woman had been hit in the head with a bottle earlier and needed to be taken to a hospital.

The club owners will now be called before the District’s alcohol board for a hearing based on the investigation into the incidents that led up to the shooting and the club could possibly face further sanctions.

According to postings on Twitter, the closure caused one D.C. rapper to change his birthday plans. Rapper Fat Trel had planned a bash at Lux Lounge on Saturday night but had to move the party to nightclub Ibiza after learning the Lux was closed.

Three other shootings and a stabbing were reported over the weekend. No one was killed in any of the incidents.

A man was injured by gunfire in the 300 block of Parkland Place in Southeast at 4:16 a.m. Saturday. Police arrested one person at the scene for crossing a police line, but that person was not believed to be the shooting suspect, Officer Metcalf said.

Another man was injured by gunfire late Friday in the 2300 block of Hartford Street Southeast. The man was found suffering from gunshot wounds in a parking lot at 11:54 p.m. There was no information available on the extent of his injuries.

Another shooting was reported Friday in the 1600 block of Rosedale Street Northeast on the police department’s Twitter account, but police were unable to confirm any details about the incident.

A final stabbing was reported late Saturday in the 700 block of Hobart Place in Northwest. A woman was reportedly stabbed at 10:40 p.m. and taken to a hospital with serious injuries.

No information was available on her condition and no suspect has been arrested, Officer Metcalf said.